Lance Armstrong - the "Pablo Escobar" of cycling . . . .

[gummibear]

Luckily there are no dopers in mountain biking......

 

[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

[Patchelicious]

It was the bilharzia treatment...

For the allegations to make sense, he would have had to eat a Spanish steak that was dragged across a Durban pharmacist's dirty counter. 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Patchelicious

[ChrisF]

LA doped, yes we know that, but he beat all the other dopers. Back then, everyone was taking drugs, but LA seemed to take the fall for everyone else.

 

Bjarni Riis admited to doping. He was not stripped of his title.

 

Jan Ulrich was caught for doping. He was not stripped of his title.

 

Marco Pantani was serving a ban for drug use. He was not stripped of his title. In fact he died a hero.

 

He was my absolute hero.  I followed most of his TdF Tours on tv.

 

For years I believed that he tested negative because theyy simply got his "formula" perfect to the rules of the day ....

 

It was much later when the concept of "systemic doping" was explained to me ... so yes, he "tested clean", but he certainly was outside the intent of the rules .....

 

Frankly, he was the rider of the day ... and at the time all the top riders were having cock-tail hour before after and during the Tours .... so at worst, Lance was the best doper of his time.

 

The only real pity - the lost generation of clean racers, that simply had not real chance against all those on gummi-berry-juice ....

 

 

 

Then again, if the "intent of the rules" were the yardstick we would all be cycling with a scuba tank and full face mask to do our part to stop the spread ..... and by the example of the local riders, the Tour riders are not bending the rules enough ...

[Duane_Bosch]

What I don't get is people like Betsy Andreu and her relentless and (IMHO) ridiculous crusade. 

He called her fat. There's no excusing that!

[Patchelicious]

At the time I was also part of the baying mob calling for his public execution with the rest of the justifiably outraged public, but over the years observing him from afar with stuff like the MOVES podcast and seeing some of his interviews, I am less attached to those views.  I enjoy how self-deprecating and reflective he has become around the doping stuff, and he has really interesting insights and commentary on cycling.  Was he a complete box?  Oh hell yes.  Has he REALLY learnt from the experience?  I think it would be impossible not to have.  Is he still a box?  Who am I to judge?

 

What I don't get is people like Betsy Andreu and her relentless and (IMHO) ridiculous crusade.  Imagine being that utterly consumed by bitterness and the need for some sort of pound of flesh, even after all these years? What does she actually want?  That kind of negativity eats you out until there is nothing left

Being a Karen before it was cool?

[DieselnDust]

Yes, nobody really knows , but from what I read Ulrich never had the discipline and single minded dedication to be a great champion in an event like the TdF ... so he might have had the physical attributes to beat Lance but it takes much more than that to win multiple TDF's.

 

To a degree I agree with Johann Bruyneel who recently said that all the great champions in cycling history were the best in their generation whether they have confessed or were caught doping or not. 

 

He made the interesting point that you cannot beat the best in the world who have doped without taking something yourself with specific reference to Greg Le Mond who has beaten Laurent Fignon who admitted to doping. 

 

 

Ja Bruyneel's thinly veiled dig at Le Mond goes back to is own racing days and spats with Le Mond.

Easy to debunk what he's insinuating anyway so I've never taken those comments of his seriously. Fignon was doping when he was coming back from Injury. There was speculation he doped in 89 too and hence Bruyneel tries to plant the seed that Lemond must have been doping if he beat Fignon. Problem with his theory is that the common drugs back then were easily detectable so only stupid riders would use it in competition. 

The EPO and blood doping era kicked off in around 93, strangely the same year LA won his World Championship...

[MTBeer]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

 

And comparing him to Pablo Escobar is a bit like calling someone who doesn't wear a mask a murderer. Teeni overstretch.

 

Everybody loves to vilify him but he took cycling into the living rooms of America with it's associated paychecks.

 

I love the banter between him and George when they do the race analysis in the grand tours. He's clearly still well connected within pro cycling.

he's more the Walter White of cycling?

[SwissVan]

GO LANCE!

 

 

 

Scotty told me to say that

????

[DieselnDust]

He called her fat. There's no excusing that!

 

She did lose a few lbs after that so she needs to be thankful to him for pointing that out because she was looking goooood after she lost the baby fat

[Chris_]

I felt about LA and the rest of them the same way I do athletics superstars. 

 

I know what they're doing, but dammit... for some reason I'm happier to be ignorant and not see it in black and white. Makes no sense I know. Especially as a lover of the sport.

[dsw]

Ja Bruyneel's thinly veiled dig at Le Mond goes back to is own racing days and spats with Le Mond.

Easy to debunk what he's insinuating anyway so I've never taken those comments of his seriously. Fignon was doping when he was coming back from Injury. There was speculation he doped in 89 too and hence Bruyneel tries to plant the seed that Lemond must have been doping if he beat Fignon. Problem with his theory is that the common drugs back then were easily detectable so only stupid riders would use it in competition.

The EPO and blood doping era kicked off in around 93, strangely the same year LA won his World Championship...

 

According to Bruyneel riders did take drugs sometimes even during competition as testing was in those days done by drawing lots which they announced halfway through a stage by race radio. He claimed that he saw how Marc Madiot ( currently the Groupama FDJ team manager) once fell back after he heard he was not going to be tested to have an IV placed into his arm before joining the front of the race again. 

 

Anyway, Bruyneel is obviously sore about a few things, so who knows, there are so many stories and theories? 

[Duane_Bosch]

I felt about LA and the rest of them the same way I do athletics superstars. 

 

I know what they're doing, but dammit... for some reason I'm happier to be ignorant and not see it in black and white. Makes no sense I know. Especially as a lover of the sport.

Same.

 

I know they are doping. But even if they weren't they'd still be superhuman. And besides. How many of the people whining about doping lie about their weight on Zwift?

[Patchelicious]

Same.

 

I know they are doping. But even if they weren't they'd still be superhuman. And besides. How many of the people whining about doping lie about their weight on Zwift?

How do you know? You should send this proof to WADA immediately. 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Patchelicious

[Duane_Bosch]

How do you know? You should send this proof to WADA immediately. 

If you look at doping bans handed out by USADA even the paraplegic curlers are doping.

[TNT1]

he's more the Walter White of cycling?

I think he's more like the Lance Armstrong of cycling.

[DieselnDust]

According to Bruyneel riders did take drugs sometimes even during competition as testing was in those days done by drawing lots which they announced halfway through a stage by race radio. He claimed that he saw how Marc Madiot ( currently the Groupama FDJ team manager) once fell back after he heard he was not going to be tested to have an IV placed into his arm before joining the front of the race again. 

 

Anyway, Bruyneel is obviously sore about a few things, so who knows, there are so many stories and theories? 

 

 

 

An IV while riding in a race???...... Straight away you should know that's BS.